Make Your Point: IRK

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pronounce IRK:

URK

Hear it.

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Did you guys ever watch Family Matters? It was a sitcom, with this one highly annoying (yet endearing) character, Urkel, who constantly got on his neighbors' nerves. I bring that up because I love how you can hear the word irk inside his name, Urkel.

When something irks you, it's tiresome, galling, annoying, irritating, and ab___ive, like Urkel's nasally voice.

Can you recall that last word, ab___ive? It means "annoying in a way that seems to scrape at you, like sandpaper."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

We're not sure where the word "irk" came from. Possibly Old Norse.

For hundreds of years in English, we used "irk" to mean "to feel tired, to feel exhausted, or to feel annoyed."

Over time, the meaning flipped around. For the past few hundred years, we've been irked by tiresome, exhausting, annoying things.

In other words, to irk people is to bother them, annoy them, or irritate them.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb, the transitive kind: "He's properly addressed as 'Dr. Johnson,' but they call him by his first name, which irks him a little."

Other forms:

The other verb forms are "irked" and "irking."

The adjective is "irksome," and the noun, "irksomeness."

how to use it:

"Irk" is common and formal.

It's so short and so punchy that it's perfect for conveying all the annoyance you feel: it's like the word brings your sentence to a screeching halt. Irrrrk.

Talk about the things (or people!) that irk you. You can also talk about being irked by something, or being irked at someone.

examples:

"It had irked Cole, watching his sports gear, including his dirt bike, snowmobile, bicycle, skis, and even his helmet, all sold through a newspaper ad like some junk at a cheap garage sale."
— Ben Mikaelsen, Touching Spirit Bear, 2001

"He was finding these detentions particularly irksome because they cut into the already limited time he could have been spending with Ginny."
— J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2005

has this page helped you understand "irk"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "irk" without saying "vex" or "bug."

try it out:

If you read advice columns, like Dear Abby, you often read about irked people and what they're irked by:

"Stepmom Irked by Husband's Nicknames for Grown Kids"
"Accepting Grandma Irked by Intolerance of Others"
"Mom Irked by Sister-in-Law With No Desire to Play Aunt"
"Longtime Employee Is Irked by Colleagues' Work Ethics"
"Woman Irked When Co-Worker Mimics Her Distinctive Style"
"Man's Perfectionist Tilt Irks His Laid-Back Wife"

Think of something that's irking you right now, either seriously or slightly, and write the title of a letter to Dear Abby in that pattern: "(Someone) Irked by (Something)." Or, if you prefer: "(Something) Irks (Someone)."

Here's mine: "Word Lover Irked By Sign at Gelato Place Reading 'Vegan-Free.'"

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is Make Your Point Before & After!

I’ll give you a clue, and you give me a verbal mashup including at least one word or phrase we've studied before.

For example, if I give you "It's someone who meets you at the library to join you in a state of deep, serious, often gloomy thoughtfulness," then you give me "brown study buddy." It's a mashup of "brown study" and "study buddy."

Try this last one today: It's a free public library packed with books, periodicals, films, and other things all created exclusively to help people in conflict find workable compromises.

To reveal the first two hints, highlight the hidden white text.

Hint 1: The number of words in this Before & After is... three.

Hint 2: The first word in this Before & After is... "via."

Hint 3: Use this term.

To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of IRK could be

A. MIX or COMBINE.
B. PLEASE or SOOTHE.
C. ENCOURAGE or CONTINUE.

2. In a novel, Jhumpa Lahiri wrote, "As she walks slowly through the rooms it irks her _____."

A. that the sheer parrot green sari... has been laid out for her on the bed by her mother
B. that there are dirty dishes stacked in the kitchen, that the bed has not been made
C. that Americans, in spite of their public declarations of affection, in spite of their miniskirts and bikinis... prefer their privacy

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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